Color Analysis - Purple Reign

The colour purple, popular for the last few seasons, is again reigning in high street collections for Autumn/Winter '08/09. Historically purple was worn by royalty and those in high positions. Only the wealthiest would have been able to afford the expensive dyeing processes used to produce purple cloth. These days purple still has connotations of luxury, glamour, high quality and elegance. It is also associated with creativity, sensitivity and spiritualism.

Pure purple, a mix of blue and red, (warm and cool tones) can be worn by all colouring types but the many shades in the purple family will suit some types better than others. Purples range from icy violet to soft mauve to brighter shades and eventually to deep aubergines and your dominant colouring type will determine which shades will flatter you most. Choosing the right shades for your own colouring can make a huge difference to how you look and feel! So how will you choose the right purple for you this season? A colour analysis with an image consultant will provide you with swatches of the perfect purples for your colouring (along with all the other colours you can wear) but in the meantime the tips below should help.

Lights

Celebrity Example: Cameron Diaz
Features: Naturally blonde, fair skin, light blue, green or grey eyes.
Which purple? Lights wear the paler shades of purple well - lilacs and light periwinkle teamed with silvers, pewters and taupes bring out the best in them.

Deeps

Celebrity Example: Catherine Zeta Jones
Features: Dark hair (dark brown or black) and dark brown eyes.
Which purple? Deep, rich purples like aubergine and royal purple work best on the deeps bringing out their bold colouring. They can be worn with black or other strong colours.

Warms

Celebrity Example: Sarah Ferguson
Features: red hair tones, fair or golden skin tones often with freckles.
Which purple? Warms have to be careful with the purple family. Icy violets and lavenders will drain them but they do look good in pure purple. Camels and oatmeal shades can be teamed with purples to warm them up and bring out the wearer.

Cools

Celebrity Example: Judi Dench
Features: Silver, steely or ash blonde hair tones with cool (pinky or olive) skin-tones.
Which purple? Most purples look fantastic on the cools. Lavenders, lilacs, violets periwinkles and plums all work well. They should be worn with charcoals, lighter greys and navy for a cool effect throughout.

Clears

Celebrity Example: Demi Moore
Features: Dark hair, lighter skin, clear blue, green or topaz eyes.
Which purple? Muted shades like soft mauve and aubergine look drab on the clears. They need to go for the brightest shades they can find or team icy shades with bolder purples or black.

Softs

Celebrity example: Kylie Minogue
Features: dark blonde to mid-brown hair tones, little contrast between hair, skin and eyes.

Which purple? The best options for the softs are the medium-depth muted shades of purple like soft mauve and amethyst. Teaming their purples with soft neutrals like charcoal and pewter will be most flattering to their colouring.

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